Restaurant food just as bad as junk food? (Getty Image)
If
you are avoiding junk food for fear of calories, but gorging on meals
at restaurants, be informed that both are equally bad for your
waistline.
Professor Ruopeng An at the University of Illinois has analysed eight years of representative data from the US , and found that eating at a restaurant is comparable to - or in some cases less healthy than - eating at a fast-food outlet. While people who eat at restaurants tend to take in more healthy nutrients - including certain vitamins, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids - than those who eat at home or at a fast-food outlet, the restaurant diners also consume substantially more sodium and cholesterol.
Eating at a fast-food outlet adds about 300 milligrams of sodium to one's daily intake, and restaurant dining boosts sodium intake by 412 milligrams per day, on average, An said. Recommendations for sodium intake vary between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams per day, but Americans already consume more than 3,100 milligrams of sodium at home, he found. He added that the additional sodium was even more worrisome, because the average daily sodium intake was already so far above the recommended upper limit, posing a significant public health concern, such as hypertension and heart disease. An concluded that eating at a full-service restaurant is not necessarily healthier than eating at a fast-food outlet.
Professor Ruopeng An at the University of Illinois has analysed eight years of representative data from the US , and found that eating at a restaurant is comparable to - or in some cases less healthy than - eating at a fast-food outlet. While people who eat at restaurants tend to take in more healthy nutrients - including certain vitamins, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids - than those who eat at home or at a fast-food outlet, the restaurant diners also consume substantially more sodium and cholesterol.
Eating at a fast-food outlet adds about 300 milligrams of sodium to one's daily intake, and restaurant dining boosts sodium intake by 412 milligrams per day, on average, An said. Recommendations for sodium intake vary between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams per day, but Americans already consume more than 3,100 milligrams of sodium at home, he found. He added that the additional sodium was even more worrisome, because the average daily sodium intake was already so far above the recommended upper limit, posing a significant public health concern, such as hypertension and heart disease. An concluded that eating at a full-service restaurant is not necessarily healthier than eating at a fast-food outlet.